http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:01:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en When it comes to technology format wars, the best doesn't always win out. Many other factors (generally of the economic variety) dictate which format comes out on top in a particular field. The classic example is VHS’s triumph over the technologically superior Betamax format at the dawn of the home-video ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/02/20/blu-ray-format-triumphs/ Last night I saw the bluegrass group Blue Highway at Joe's Pub in NYC. It was an awesome show. The band blends traditional and modern bluegrass influences, and features a lineup packed with really amazing musicians. Blue Highway is touring in support of their new album, Through the Window of ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/02/20/blue-highway-at-joes-pub/ I asked Stephen Kay, master synth programmer for Korg and inventor of KARMA, “What did you see at NAMM that impressed you the most?” Without missing a beat, he said, “Spectrasonics’ new Omnisphere.” So I strolled over to the Spectrasonics booth to have a look for myself. I had already ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/01/20/omnisphere-will-soon-be-here/ Today I had a semi-private demonstration of Kurzweil’s PC3X, the resurrected company’s first new keyboard in several years to incorporate VAST technology. The latest variation in the old K-Series’ synthesis architecture is called Dynamic VAST, apparently because you can specify as many components as you need to construct whatever sound ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/01/20/a-blast-from-the-past-foretells-the-future/ There’s something new at Universal Audio, crafted from hand-picked components, including new old stock (NOS) vintage vacuum tubes and custom-wound CineMag input and output transformers. It’s the LA-610 Signature Edition, a limited run version of UA’s respected LA-610 channel strip, comprising a mic preamp, DI, EQ, and opto compressor. Only ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/01/20/a-cool-classic-in-new-threads/ Maurice Gainen here. My studio, Maurice Gainen Productions (what else?) was profiled by Matt Gallagher in the Mix July '07 edition. NAMM is awesome....I've been here almost every year for about 20 years. I recommend coming on Thursday first thing as it is empty and you can ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/01/19/namm-08/ Following up the success of its Duende FireWire DSP unit, SSL has introduced Duende MINI, a hardware box about the size of an external hard drive, but including the same DSP processing power of the 1U rackmount Duende. While the Duende comes with 32-channel capability, the $799 Duende Mini starts ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/01/19/the-mini-skinny-ssl-duende-mini/ The folks at iZotope announced that their RX audio restoration software will be released soon as a group of five plug-ins. Each plug-in will handle the duties of one of RX's five modules. The modules include Spectral Repair, which lets you zero in on a specific part of the audio ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/01/19/izotope-rx-plug-ins/ METAlliance today announced a Pro Partner program, inviting professional audio manufacturers to join the founding Board of Directors in recognizing quality and high-resolution in the recording arts. The first group of manufacturers, Audio-Technica, Cakewalk, GML, JBL Pro, Lexicon, Manley Labs, Millennia Media, Royer Labs, Sanken and Universal Audio, ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/01/19/metalliance-goes-pro/ Sonnox has introduced its first plug-in since becoming an independent company in April 2007. With the new SuprEsser plug-in, it is attempting to fill the void of a professional quality de-esser in plug-in form. The highly featured SuprEsser includes a Simple mode for fast fixes, but also effectively doubles as ... http://blog.emusician.com/the_bus/2008/01/19/tell-plosives-to-hiss-off-with-sonnox-oxford-supresser-plug-in/